Employee dining rooms, hospitals, retirement communities, event catering - different customers, different menus, but they all involve the same challenges: trained staff shortages, standardization, flexible meal times, special diets, budgetary pressures. At the same time, meals need to be creative, fresh, balanced, and innovative. Which means the kitchen equipment has to be flexible and durable enough to keep up. And produce food intelligently. With systems that learn, anticipate, plan, and remember. Systems that do a lot, but take up very little space. Like the dynamic duo of the iCombi Pro and the iVario Pro.
That’s a lot to promise. And it sounds paradoxical at first, but it makes sense when you’re using two intelligent cooking systems. Two cooking systems capable of covering more than 90% of all conventional cooking applications. Systems that are intelligent. That have the same simple operating system. That are easy to learn. That were designed with large quantities in mind. That can produce a huge variety of food. That deliver the same great results over and over again. That meet the strictest hygienic requirements.
Buffet, menu, free flow - non-commercial food service is diverse and demanding. Plus snacks, salads, pizza. All opportunities for positive customer experiences. Which is what makes organized, effective mise en place so important. With cooking systems that have identical control systems for ease of use, that handle routine tasks, that consistently produce quality results, and that work intelligently. Like the iVario Pro - for pasta, stews, and sauces, for example. It offers extraordinary precision: no burning, no boiling over. Or the iCombi Pro for casseroles, chicken, and vegetables. And with ConnectedCooking, you can even operate your cooking systems while you’re on the go.
Control concept
The iCombi Pro and the iVario Pro take work off your hands, so that you have more time to focus on customer experiences.
MyDisplay
MyDisplay eliminates user error and keeps results uniform. Choose the dishes you want shown on the display as images or icons. Tap it, and the cooking systems get to work. You can add or delete recipes just as easily. After all, the cooking systems are there to meet your needs, not the other way around.
Image 1: iCombi Pro
Image 2: iVario Pro
Fresh, convenience, frozen. Meat, fish, poultry, sides, desserts. Cook & Chill, Cook & Hold, Cook & Serve. For a hundred people or several thousand. The iCombi Pro 20-full size can handle up to 160 servings of chicken cordon bleu in a single load. And they’ll all turn out perfectly browned. Using less oil than you’d need with conventional cooking appliances. And the iVario Pro XL can sear 45 lb of meat at once. Delicious seared flavour, minimal cooking losses. Done to perfection in the blink of an eye. Incomparably delicious results you can repeat over and over again.
What’s the secret? The iCookingSuite, the cooking intelligence in both cooking systems that detects the quantity, size, browning, and condition of the food, and adjusts cooking parameters accordingly. So your broccoli stays crisp, green, and full of vitamins, while your turkey burgers come out juicy inside, with perfect grill marks outside. And extra batches are just as easy: the iCombi Pro can produce several different foods at once, and the iVario Pro can be divided into up to four zones. Different products, equally great results.
Standardization
Both cooking systems let you store your own tried-and-true intelligent cooking paths, so you can access them at any time. Connect your iCombi Pro or iVario Pro to ConnectedCooking, transfer your cooking paths to other units with just a click, and get the same high-quality results anywhere on the network. No matter who’s operating the cooking system. No matter where the cooking system is located.
Colourful, healthy, delicious - this is how commercial catering should be. Every day. For any special request. With 95% less fat, up to 40% fewer calories, less food waste, less overproduction, lower operating expenses. And more vitamins, more minerals, more colour, more flavour. That’s why the iCombi Pro offers gentle cooking with 100% fresh steam. That’s why the iCombi Pro and the iVario Pro have enough reserve power to keep juice inside meat and preserve valuable nutrients. And that’s why the iVario Pro is so fast that vitamins simply don’t have time to escape.
*compared to conventional cooking technology
In the foodservice industry, if you don’t have a leg up on the competition today, you might not have guests tomorrow. Which makes it that much more important to regularly evaluate your concepts, generate input, and implement new ideas. That goes for everything from the cafeteria ambiance to the service format to the menu plan. And RATIONAL can help with all of the above. We offer expertise. We offer experience. We offer new ideas. And, of course, we offer cooking systems that adapt to changes, that know international recipes, and that cover 90% of all standard cooking applications. A food trend these two can’t handle? Not likely.
Shopping carts
The iCombi Pro helps you produce the same high quality results over and over. No stress, no additional staff. The cooking system uses preset “shopping carts”, which contain the dishes in your food concept that can be cooked at the same time. Just tap the correct shopping cart on the display (“Tuesday menu plan”, for example), drag the dish to a level, load the iCombi Pro, and the unit will start.
You need large quantities of a variety of food. Tasty, nutritious, not over or under cooked. Without producing unnecessary food waste. Container Finishing makes it a breeze. Prepare your food in advance, for example using Cook & Chill, and then vacuum-seal it or store it refrigerated. That way, you can purchase in bulk and prepare food well in advance. At mealtime, use the iCombi Pro to bring the food up to serving temperature. So you can serve fresh, crisp vegetables that are still full of vitamins. Easily, safely, flexibly. You can even get several different products ready at the same time. Without sacrificing quality. Quick and straightforward. Repeat for as many batches as necessary.
iProductionManager
When you’re facing logistical challenges, let the iProductionManager take over: just place dishes on the display and it will show you which of them can be cooked together. The system monitors each tray separately, adjusting cooking times intelligently to the quantities and the results you’re seeking.
Image 1: iProductionManager, iCombi Pro
iZoneControl
For when everything needs to be fast, efficient, and reliable. Just divide your iVario’s pan into four zones of the size, shape, and position of your choice. Use one pan to cook different dishes at once, using a different temperature for each. Or prepare multiple batches of the same dish, so they’ll be ready at different times. No extra kitchen equipment. No monitoring.
Image 2: iZoneControl, iVario Pro
Sustainability conserves resources and saves money. Here at RATIONAL, energy-efficient production and logistics, recycling and raising the bar for energy conservation are all par for the course. With the iCombi Pro and the iVario Pro, sustainability will become just as self-evident in your kitchen: compared to conventional kitchen equipment, you’ll save energy, reduce your raw materials usage, and decrease your overproduction, all while preparing healthier food.
The iCombi Pro and the iVario Pro aren’t just intelligent when it comes to cooking. They’re smart savers as well. They save on labour, energy consumption, space, raw materials, and fat, just to name a few. In short: the difference is obvious.
Short preheating times eliminate the need for stand-by mode. Rolling batches with iProductionManager in the iCombi Pro, zone-specific pan heating with iZoneControl in the iVario Pro - two great energy-saving solutions.
Say goodbye to routine activities like turning, checking, and re-adjusting oven temperatures. Save time with the iCombi Pro’s ultra-fast cleaning feature and the super easy-to-clean iVario Pro. Frees up 1–2 hours every day.
Together, the iCombi Pro and the iVario Pro can replace up to 90% of all conventional kitchen equipment. Goodbye tilting skillets, kettles, and deep fryers - hello freedom of movement. Or additional retail space.
The iCombi Pro adjusts its own cooking processes precisely, which reduces cooking and trimming losses. And nothing burns or boils over in the iVario Pro, so no risk of ruined batches. Which cuts your raw materials usage by up to 25%.
Bending, lifting, carrying... getting burns and bruises... that’s just part of everyday kitchen life. Well, it was. But no longer. Because today’s kitchen is ergonomic, efficient, and easy on staff. RATIONAL observed the chefs of the world and developed dozens of solutions to help spare their backs, protect them against burns, and make their lives easier and healthier. The iCombi Pro has automatic HACCP documentation and the iCareSystem’s sparkling, hygienic cleanliness; the iVario is fast and easy to clean. The iVario Pro features cool pan walls and rounded corners. And with a 6-point core temperature probe that even detects incorrect insertions, both systems give you the security of knowing that everything’s under control.
Keep an eye on everything.
ConnectedCooking, RATIONAL’s online platform, helps you play it safe: Automatic HACCP documentation, unit checks, software updates – all managed right from your desk. Developed a new recipe? Send it to the kitchen with a click. All you need is a PC, a smartphone, or a tablet.
When it comes down to it, the iCombi Pro only has one job: reliably delivering the same great results every single time. That’s why it’s equipped with so much intelligence - and why it offers such impressive productivity, quality, and simplicity. It detects whether you’re making 20 or 200 steaks, and adjusts its own parameters automatically. It helps you optimize your production schedule for speed or energy consumption - to keep your buffet filled perfectly, for example.
Intelligent technology boils, pan-fries, and deep-fries in a single unit. Quick, yet precise. Each dish is individual, yet economical. More quality with less staff. The new iVario Pro brings precision, productivity, speed and flexibility - while being cost-effective.
Great service is what brings the RATIONAL cooking system and your kitchen together. Initial consultation, trial cooking, installation, personalized introductory training, software updates, the ChefLine hotline for individual questions... RATIONAL is with you from start to finish. Or expand your knowledge through Academy RATIONAL. You also can turn to one of RATIONAL’s dealers, who know our cooking systems inside and out - they’ll be glad to help you find the right solution for your kitchen. And if an emergency ever arises, RATIONAL’s worldwide service network will be there in no time.
ServicePlus
All with one goal in mind: helping you get the most out of your investment and enjoyment for years to come... and making sure you never run out of ideas.
Nothing’s more convincing than seeing it for yourself. Experience RATIONAL cooking systems up close, see their intelligent features in action, and learn how they can work for you. Live and at no obligation - right in your area. Call us or send us an email if you have any questions, or if you’d like to discuss how RATIONAL cooking systems can meet your culinary needs.